Intern Success Story: Kimberly Richards
By Kailyn Haskovec, Process Improvement Intern
March 10, 2020
Starting as an intern in 2013, Kimberly Richards has recently returned to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) as a Project Coordinator in December 2019.
Kimberly didn’t always know that she wanted to work in transportation, but she was intrigued by the Office of Process Improvement (OPI) here at CDOT. She started her internship in October 2013 and worked for a year with OPI while also studying for her Bachelor of Science in Management at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
During her internship, Kimberly employed her Change Management Professional certification to assist with CDOT’s Change Agent Network. The ADKAR change management methodology has influenced her career, and she still utilizes the strategies today.
Photo of Kimberly Richards
Her internship with CDOT greatly impacted Kimberly's next position with the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR). She states, “ the change management and process improvement skills obtained while interning for CDOT greatly and directly influenced my new position. Within 6 months, I was able to turn an office in dire straits, failing to meet any goals and a waiting list of employees wanting to transfer out, to an office meeting all their goals and a waiting list of employees wanting to transfer into my office.”
After some time with DOR, Kimberly has made the transition back to CDOT. As a newer member on the I-25 expansion project from Berthoud to Johnston, Kimberly works with data analysis, budgeting and project management. She recently returned to school and graduated with a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Project Management, which helps guide her work at CDOT.
Although at first she was hesitant to work for an engineering and maintenance focused agency, she implores other interns to know that their efforts are valuable to the department. She states, “My advice is to know your own value and your own worth outside of, beyond, a job title and/or what your colleagues possess. Our individuality and overall purpose is unique to us, do not ‘box’ it up but let it grow, flourish, and influence by utilizing and learning from the numerous and individual skill sets you are exposed to.”
Kimberly certainly has been flourishing here at CDOT, and she thanks her internship for sparking her interest in and commitment to government work. She describes CDOT as a caring organization which “sincerely and genuinely cares about this state, its inhabitants, and its infrastructure.” Employees like Kimberly take pride in their work and help contribute to CDOT’s values of excellence and customer service.